This invention relates to articles useful for mounting items to a fixed surface such as a wall or tabletop. More particularly, it relates to a device adapted to hold a box and its contents in a fixed location desired by the user of items contained within such a box. The present invention is particularly well-suited for holding boxes of disposable items including boxes of latex gloves and facial tissues in a location which makes their access convenient to a user of such disposable items.
Many articles of commerce are provided by their manufacturers in boxes, wherein the boxes contain one or more features which enable the user of items contained within the box to conveniently remove a single item from the box without disturbing the remaining contents of the box. One well-known example of such provision by manufacturer""s is the common box of facial tissue, which enables the consumer to grasp a single facial tissue for use while leaving the remaining tissues in the box accessible for later retrieval on an as-needed basis. Similarly, manufacturers of disposable gloves provide their products in a box which enables the end user to remove gloves from the box on an as-needed basis without disturbing the gloves remaining within the box.
In the medical field, doctors and other care providers employ latex and gloves of other polymeric composition for various purposes, but generally to protect either the doctor or patient from becoming contaminated in a medical procedure such as an examination, or during a surgery. Since the efficient use of space is a primary concern for those whose work duties entail the use of several different pieces of equipment and wares, tabletop surface area within, for example, a medical examination room is an important commodity which needs to be used judiciously. It is true in general that whenever possible, items should be stored in out of the way locations, to increase efficiency of the various procedures and operations as a whole.
In this regard, it is beneficial to locate latex gloves, tissues, and the like in out of the way locations. Prior art practice has found that locating boxes of items on walls is a judicious choice in the effort to conserve tabletop space and increase the efficiency of operations. Thus, one finds that various workers having similar concerns have contrived a variety of devices capable of holding boxes, which include the following US Patent documents, all of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto in their entirety: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,263,856; D 276,389; 3,258,238; D 278,295; 3,288,416; D284,721; 4,696,448; D 293,182; 4,889,376; D 298,396; 5,573,216; D371,708; 5,823,497; D 374,360; D 187,388; D 389,682; D 238,838; and D437,167.
We have found it to be desirable for such box holding devices that they should enable the rapid positioning of the box and its contents within the holding device in a minimal amount of time. We have also found that it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should rigidly hold the box and its contents in position so that the box is not pulled out of the holder by virtue of the action of a person grasping one of the contained items from the box. We have also found that it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should enable the rapid removal of an empty box easily and in a minimal amount of time. We have also found that it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should be configured so that they may be placed alongside one another, with a minimal amount of wasted surface area in between them, so as to conserve space. We have also found that it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should be easy to affix to any desired surface. We have also found it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should not conceal the front, side, or end of the box being held, thus rendering the exterior of the box to be highly visible to users of the boxes"" contents. We have also found that it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should be relatively simple in construction so as to reduce their cost to enable persons who use boxed items to enjoy the benefits of the use of such box holders by virtue of their reduced cost. We have also found that it is desirable for such box holding devices that they should be constructed from a single piece which is produced by an injection molding process. While various workers have produced the articles described in the aforesaid US Patent documents, none thus far have provided a device which simultaneously incorporates all of the aforesaid desirable characteristics into a single box holder. The present invention, on the other hand, succeeds in that it does provide in a single box holder all of the aforesaid features. Thus, we believe that our invention succeeds where previous workers have failed, in this regard. These and other benefits of the box holder we now provide will become readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading and understanding the present specification and the claims appended hereto.
The present invention provides a device useful for holding and mounting a box containing useful articles to a flat surface in a way which enables a person to remove and replace the box. A device according to the invention comprises a substantially-rectangularly-shaped, base portion having a flat bottom surface adapted to contact a wall, a flat top surface which is adapted to contact a box disposed within the device, two long sides, and two short sides, wherein the base portion comprises a plurality of mounting holes disposed therethrough. There is a risor rib centrally disposed on the top surface of the base portion, wherein the risor rib protrudes upwardly from the flat top surface. There is a backstop affixed to the top surface of the base portion at one of the short sides, wherein the backstop protrudes upwardly from the flat top surface on the base portion an effective amount to stop the travel of a box that is inserted into the device. There are a plurality of side bars disposed along each of the long sides, the side bars including a first end portion which is attached to the base portion at the top surface, and a second end portion, and wherein the side bars protrude upwardly from the flat top surface on the base portion. There is a flat prong portion disposed at the second end portion of each of the side bars, wherein the prong portion extends towards the interior of the base portion and in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the length dimension of the side bars.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a device as described above which further comprises a plurality of depressions along one of the long sides, and a plurality of protrusions along the remaining long side which does not have depressions, wherein the protrusions are spaced apart from one another the same distance that the depressions are spaced from one another. According to one form of the invention there is a plurality of cutout holes disposed through the base portion, adjacent to the side bars, wherein the number of the cutout holes is equivalent to the number of the side bars. According to the invention the useful articles contained in the box which is held by a device according to the invention are selected from the group consisting of: facial tissues and rubber gloves.